Observation of a Production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet
On Saturday October 14, 2000, the North Carolina Shakespeare festival put on a performance of Hamlet. This show, which was performed at the Carolina Theatre in Durham, North Carolina, was directed by _____________________, who also directed ____________________. ___________________ did a really good job at playing Hamlet, which is a very hard role to act for any actor. Hamlet was produced by the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, which is a group of actors that travel around NC and the South, running productions of Shakespeare's many plays. The North Carolina Shakespeare Festival put on a production of Taming of the shrew on October 13, where the actor who played Hamlet played a servant of a rich landowner.
Out of all the players in Hamlet, two that really stuck out in my mind are Hamlet and Polonious. __________________'s portrale of Hamlet was very energetic and believable. Where ____________ was silly and almost humorous in his portrale of Polonious. Two players that really disappointed me in their performances were _____________________ and _________________________. The king, who was played by _______________ was dry and inconvincible, and ______________________ who played Hamlet's mother was very fake and uninteresting.
Out of the whole play, the scene that struck me as the most memorable was the scene where Hamlet sees his father and makes everyone that is with him to swear that they won't speak a word of what they saw to anyone or anything. They are all sitting in a circle and Hamlet asks them to swear and then the lights dim and a red light turns on. Then a big ominous voice pounds down from above (it is hamlet's father) and commands them to swear. This happens many times until all the people say that they will swear.(it is also quite comical.). The scene where hamlet kills Polonious was just as I had expected it to be, where as the scene where hamlet makes his famous "to be or not to be?" speech was nothing like I had expected.
The set that Hamlet was played on was a very simple; on its edges it had two kind of curtanoffed closet looking things. In the back of it there were 2 huge doors, which opened in the middle of the stage. On stage right there was a raised platform about 5-6feet off of the floor with concrete steps going up to it.
Everyone knows the story of Hamlet: Hamlet’s father is killed, Hamlet’s mother marries the evil Uncle, everyone thinks Hamlet has gone mad, and almost everyone dies at the end. In David Tennant’s version of Hamlet, the use of the characters’ physical antics, interactions with each other, the stark similarities between the characters, and the way they dress, changes how the audience interprets each character’s actions and contribution to the play as a whole, which then determines how successful this version of Hamlet is.
Hamlet, performed by the Yohangza Theatre Company of Korea and directed by Jung-ung Yang, is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet that integrates the Korean Shamanist rituals with the original storyline and text. Performed in Korean and featuring an all Korean cast, the play made its debut in 2009 at the Myeongdong Theater in Seoul. The play was layer also performed at the at the 2010 Oz Asia Festival in Adelaide, the 2011 Shakespeare-Festival Neuss in Germany, and at the Peacock Theatre in London in 2014 (Yung). It is clear that many liberties are taken in this adaptation of Hamlet; therefore, evaluating the effectiveness of the overall production based on the accuracy of the play in relation to the original text will be unfruitful. Instead,
The difference between the setting shows how modern the Kenneth Branagh version of Hamlet is compared to the Mel Gibson version of Hamlet. One of the difference between the two films is the setting and time period. Mel Gibson version of Hamlet is set in a dark and medieval time castle during the 19th century. Kenneth Branagh's movie of Hamlet was set in 19th century making the setting of the castle more of a luxurious modern palace. For instance, In Act 4 Scene 4 during Hamlet’s soliloquy, Hamlet is seen in a setting full of snow in which he emphasize his anger towards the world and Claudius, “How all occasions do inform against me, And spur my dull revenge! What is a man if his chief good and market of his time be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more.”(4.4. 31-34). The lighting of the movie plays a major role in the production of the film because it demonstrates emotions and feelings from the characters. For instance, in Hamlet starring Mel Gibson the lighting was adjusted to make the scenes darker to show sadness and grief. However in the Branagh version of hamlet the lighting was fairly bri...
Hamlet is a classic play that has been performed, filmed, and read millions of times since its birth four hundred and fifteen years ago. These portrayals vary from the basic performances of Shakespeare’s time to high-tech revivals that remodel Claudius’ seizure of the throne as a sly boardroom takeover of a prospering tech-company. Each of these adaptations takes artistic liberties, a collaboration or conspiracy among director, screenwriter, and cinematographer, which changes not only the details but also the era and locale. Both Branagh and Almereyda’s versions retained the original name, and some of the dialogue, yet couldn’t be more opposite in their portrayal of “The Tragedy of Hamlet”. Each depiction has quirks that modify Shakespeare
There have been numerous remarks of William Shakespeare’s most celebrated drama Hamlet. Almereyda managed to make Hamlet a theoretical play, into an intense, action-driven movie without losing much of the initial tragic atmosphere of the original play. The play Hamlet focuses strictly on the state of Denmark on the original Elsinore castle, however Michael Almereyda was able to modernize the movie to New York City. In many ways I think that the modernized version of Hamlet is easier to appreciate but in review that diminishes the play’s “greatness,” in my personal opinion.
...amining the masterpiece that is Hamlet, it becomes clear that Shakespeare was a successful playwright because he understood his audience and knew how to connect with them through his work. Even four hundred years after Shakespeare, this is still undeniably a crucial quality in anyone who is required to interact with an audience. Hence, much can be learned from Hamlet and from Shakespeare’s other works of art; the context of his plays may no longer resonate in today’s world, but the methods he used to engage and target the audience are timeless guidelines.
This movie was similar to the others that we watched, but it also had some differences. It did have the same dialogue and had the same basic plot to show Claudius that Hamlet knew he killed his father. A big difference was that this was set in present day as compared to the others, which were set during Medieval Times. Also Hamlet puts on a movie instead of a play, and Hamlet had no interaction with anyone, it just cut to the opening of the play. This is different for how the other Hamlet movies go, because since he makes a movie and not a play it does not show him meeting with any people that are in the cast and Hamlet teaching them what to perform like it did in the others.
Shakespeare's Hamlet has been adopted to the screen many times, each with its own interpretation of the dialogue. The directors Kenneth Branagh and Michael Almereyda both bring the words of Shakespeare to life with vivid and original settings, costumes, and personalities. Of course they both attempt to convey different moods and tones. Branagh's on-screen version is very traditional as it is set in the 1800's and every word of Shakespeare's is included verbatim. On the other hand, Almereyda presents the world a completely modern version of the famous play complete with cell phones, laptops, guns, and your mundane company take-over!
Hamlet, performed by the Yohangza Theatre Company of Korea and directed by Jung-ung Yang, is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet that integrates Korean Shamanist rituals with the original storyline and text. Performed in Korean and featuring an all Korean cast, the play made its debut in 2009 at the Myeongdong Theater in Seoul. The play was later also performed at the at the 2010 Oz Asia Festival in Adelaide, the 2011 Shakespeare-Festival Neuss in Germany, and at the Peacock Theatre in London in 2014 (Yung). It is clear that many liberties are taken in this adaptation of Hamlet; therefore, evaluating the effectiveness of the overall production based on the accuracy of the
Furthermore, Shakespeare introduces the Players to add an extra dimension to his ideas on the effects of disassembly. The juxtaposition of the `play within a play' acts as a subtle literary device that suggests that, as Hamlet's play occurs in the middle of the play, the play itself revolves around the pretence undertaken by the majority of Shakespeare's characters.
Hamlet, one of the most intricate and influential plays by Shakespeare, debatably of all time. It has inspired not only appreciative readers and writing critiques but continuous generations of people. The inspiration led to the fabrication of many great movies, which wasn’t achievable until the 20th century. Before cinema was the prevalent method of sharing appreciation and spilling emotion for a specific subject, art portrayed what would fly through our minds such as the many interpretations of Ophelia’s death. With the imagery put into motion we can try and pick apart how certain people might view the play being portrayed and choose what best suits our expectation of this tragedy. Other things that only film has been able to present to us is the various camera angles, a setting that isn’t restricted to a stage and an audience that can be reached anywhere in the world. Also who is casted and how they will be dressed is crucial to the success of the movie although sometimes overlooked during the production process. Some movies represent these elements of mise-en-scene in an excellent matter such as the Kenneth Branagh version of Hamlet, while others would seem to disappoint my expectations for a great re-visualization of our suicidal hero like Micheal Almereyda’s Hamlet staring Ethan Hawke. Admirably though every Hamlet film to date has its own unique style, something that will please all audiences, with its unique pros and cons.
Hamlet is a play written by William Shakespeare in 1601. The play follows a young prince named Hamlet. Who returns home from school and discovers that his father has died, his uncle has married his mother, and ends up meeting the ghost of his father. The play has been a success since its release, having been performed in a run since its first production. Hamlet’s main enemy in this play is shown as the Uncle, who Hamlet learns from his father’s ghost early on killed his father. Hamlet’s worst enemy according to some scholars, is himself. Hamlet seems to do nothing but get stuck in his head for almost the entire play until he’s finally faced with his own mortality and therefore must act or defy his father’s wishes. When Hamlet
'Hamlet' is a challenging play which has been produced many times in many different ways. The ideal 'Hamlet' would be one which combines the old with the new and illustrates the depth and feelings of hamlet through the set whilst creating the characters as the reader sees them whilst reading the script. Everyone sees the ideal 'Hamlet' differently and it would probably be impossible to create one which everyone would love, but to satisfy most I would create all that I have mentioned and create my 'Hamlet' from modern productions and ideas from the text.
The most riveting moment in the play in my opinion was when Hamlet had the Actors in the play reenact his father’s murdering front of
Corum, Richard. Understanding Hamlet: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998. Print.